Steering wheel attachment



Oct 25, 1938. l. A. ANSON 0 STEERING WHEEL ATTACHMENT Filed Sept. 30,1957 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 25 1938 UNITED, STATES I PATENTOFFICE 2,134,020 STEERING WHEEL ATTACHMENT Isaac A. Anson, Tulsa, Okla.Application September 30, 1937, Serial No. 166,465

8 Claims.

This invention relates to steering wheel attachments and particularly toan attachment for automobile steering wheels which permits holding ormanipulating a steering wheel without actually grasping it with thehands.

I have found that in the driving of an automobile and particularly whendriving for extended periods of time over long distances, the normalmanner of holding and manipulating the steering wheel, wherein both thedrivers hands grasp the wheel in positions which require the driversarms to remain in a raised and more or less unnatural and uncomfortableposition, considerable strain develops in the drivers hands, arms,shoulders and back particularly, and results in excessive fatigue, suchas will frequently dull the drivers normal reflexes and alertness andthereby increaseth-e danger of accidents.

To obviate these disadvantages, I have devised an attachment forsteering wheels, which permits a driver to assume a completelycomfortable and relaxed driving position, while at the same time,affords a means permitting the driver to at'all times retain positiveoperating control of the steering wheel.

To this end, I have devised an attachment which comprises generally anauxiliary grip handle which is attachable to a steering wheel andextends from the wheel so as to permit the driver to grasp the handlewith one hand while that hand is resting in a completely relaxedposition in his lap or in whatever position will afford the greatestdegree of relaxation and comfort for the driver. My new attachment ispreferably constructed of a rubber or similar composition material whichis sufliciently resilient to be comfortably gripped by the hand andsufficiently pliable to yield readily to pressure of contact with moreor less solid objects,such as the body or legs of the driver, but whichis characterized by sufficient rigidity to aflord a positive means ofcontrol or manipulation of the wheel by the driver.

Therefore a general object of this invention is to provide an attachmentfor relieving the strain resulting from the normal method of steeringautomobiles when driving long distances.

A principal object is to provide an improved flexible but semi-rigid,steering grip which can readily be attached to, or removed from, anysteering wheel, or which'may be moved from place to place on the wheelas desired by the driver and which will permit the driver to remove hishands from the wheel and allow them :to bepositioned in'a comfortableand relaxed position while enabling adequate steering of the car to behad with one hand, leaving the other hand free for signalling purposesor for purposes of complete rest and relaxation.

In practice, it is found that an auxiliary grip attachment constructedof a rubber composition, which has a hand grip portion in the form of ahollow bulb, shaped to fit the hand, is particularly adapted tocomfortable and non-fatiguing gripping by the hand of the driver. Thehand grip portion is provided with a shank or neck of the same orsimilar composition material, which is in turn attached to the wheel bya suitable wheel gripping clamp. The neck portion is constructed of asuificient thickness of the composition stock to provide suflicientrigidity therein to enable efiective control of the wheel by suitableoperating move ments of the hand grip portion, while at the same time,the neck is sufliciently pliable so that it may be deflected frominjurious contact withthe body of the driver in the event of suddenstops or collisions which would tend'to thrust the body of the driveragainst the attachment.

Another object is to provide in conjunction with the hand grip and neckportions of the device, a means for attachment to the steering wheel,whereby the device may be readily attached to, or removed from, thewheel, and which may be quickly and easily shifted. to various positionson the wheel as dictated by the degree of driving comfort desired.

A practical embodiment of the invention is set forth hereinafter and isshown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view showing one form of construction of' the device of thisinvention and its position of attachment on a steering wheel.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the device takenalong line 2-2 ofFig. 1.

Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are details of different modifications of thedevice of this invention, and

Fig. 8 is an assembly view showing the normal position of the devicewith relation to a steering wheel and drivers seat of an automobile.

Referring to the drawing and Figs. 1 and 2 in particular, the steeringattachment of this invention is shown attached in the normal drivingposition to a steering wheel Ill. The attachment comprises a hand gripportion II, which is preferably of bulbular form and constructed of aflexible material such as rubber or a similar pliable compositionmaterial. Grip portion Il normally extends downwardly from the wheel rimand is of suitable'lengthto adapt same to extend out adversely affectingthe measure of control of the steering wheel movements afforded by thepositive operating movement of the attachment,

while at the same time, neck I2'will retain sufii cient rigidity topermit operating movements of hand grip II to be positively communicatedto the steering wheel rim for effective control of its movements.

At one side of neck I2 is attached a tie strap I3 constructed of thesame or similar materialas that forming the hand grip and neck portions.Tie strap I3 is sufficiently long to encircle the rim of the wheel I0and is providedwith one or more slits I4 for attachment of the free endof strap I3 to a button or fastener I5 mounted on neck I2. Strap I3 isof suificient width so that when the steering attachment is in place onthe wheel, leverage of the strap on the wheel rim will be providedsufficient to enable lateral movements of, the steering grip I I andneck I2 to control the steering movements of the wheel. Strap I3 will bemade sufficiently thick to provide a degree of rigidity to make theleverage action comparatively positive. 7

All of the parts of the described device, including grip II, neck I2,strap I3 and button I4, will normally be constructed of the samecomposition material in order that the entire device can be molded orotherwise formed in a single manufacturing operation, since the device.may, thus be manufactured very cheaply.

The particular rubber composition adaptable to the construction of thedevice is similar to that commonly used in the construction ofautomobile inner-tubes, as that composition is found to have that degreeof pliability and semi-rigidity required by the device.

By constructing tie strap I3 of rubber composition, advantage may betaken of the natural frictional characteristics of this material inproviding a positive yet slidable connection of the attachment of thisinvention to the steering wheel.

By virtue of this characteristic of rubber compositions, it isunnecessary to pull strap I3 tightly about the wheel rim, but rather theconnectionmay be left somewhat loose and by maintaining a very slighttension on grip portion II, such as that which would normally be exertedby the weight of the drivers hand, the strap will be held insufiiciently close contact with the wheel rim to afford the desireddegree of control of the wheel operation. At the same time, if itbecomes desirable to move the attachment to a different position on thewheel rim, a slight'movementofthe grip portion toward the wheel rim willloosen the contact of strap I3 therewith, and the attachment canthen'be'easily shifted to some other position on the wheel. Similarly,the attachment may be rotated about the wheel rim from its normalpendent position to a position within the periphery of the wheel when itbecomes desirable to dispense with its use in operating the wheel.

Fig. 3 illustrates a slight modification in the form ofconstructionofneck I2, in that the neck portion in this modification ishollow, but of tubular form and will thereby retain the desirablecharacteristics of pliability and semi-rigidity.

This form of construction will be useful when a somewhat greater degreeof rigidity is desired than is provided by the solid form of neck shownin Figs. 1 and 2, while at the same time reducing the amount of materialin the neck portion and so further reduce the cost of manufacture of thedevice. 7

Figs. 4 and 6 illustrate another modification in which tie strap I3 isin the form of a spring clamp adapted to yieldably grip the wheel rim.The clamp in this modification may be made entirely of rubbercomposition, the natural tendency of ,which'is to resist distension andso to normally grip the wheel rim at all times. This type of wheelconnection may be reinforced by a spring steel member I6 imbedded in therubber composition. This form of attachment is connected to the wheelrim by spreading the jaws of the clamp until the wheel rim is receivedin the preformed opening in the clamp, whereupon the jaws are releasedand the attachment becomes firmly connected to the wheel.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, neck I2 is constructedof a rubber composition having the same desired characteristics ofpliability and semi-rigidity described in connection with the formillustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and described above. The hand grip portionII, however, may be made of solid material such as metal and isdetachably connected to neck I2. While this modification does notpossess the degree of hand gripping comfort inherent in the principalmodification, nevertheless, by virtue of the pliability andsemi-rigidity of the neck portion, this type of attachment will alsoprovide the advantages of ready deflection from the normal positionwhile affording positive control of the wheel movements.

Figs. 5 and '7 illustrate still another modification wherein only neckI2 is constructed of rubber composition of the desired characteristics,while both the wheel connection clamp and the hand grip portion areconstructed of metal or other rigid material. This form of construction,however, also affords the advantageous movements of the previouslydescribed modifications.

From the foregoing it will be evident that by means ,of any one of thedescribed modifications of my new steering wheel attachment, theordinary steering wheel movements may be completely controlled with onehand by the driver while that hand is in a comfortably supportedposition in the drivers lap, the other hand being free for purposes ofsignalling or repose. It will also be evident that the pliability of theattachment greatly reduces the danger of injury to the driverfrom'sudden stops or collisions which might tend to impel the body ofthe driver toward the wheel or attachment. My new invention, therefore,provides a safe, simple means for greatly reducing the fatigue normallyresulting from extended periods of driving.

It will be seen, therefore, that my new invention comprises broadly asteering wheel attachment consisting of a hand grip and a connection foroperatively connecting said hand grip to a steering wheel, saidconnection being sufficiently pliableto permit deflection of the handgrip from its normal position without adversely affecting the control ofthe steering wheel and being sufficiently rigid to permit the hand gripto retain operative control of the steering wheel.

It: will be understood. that J my new steering other than automobilesteering wheels.

wheel attachment may also be utilized advantageously in connection withsteering wheels For example, my new attachment may be used in steeringof boats or in operating certain types of industrial machinery where awheel is used more or less continuously in controlling certain of themachine operations.

Furthermore, while I have mentioned rubber compositions as preferablefor the construction of the essential portions of the attachment, I mayuse other composition materials or I may even use metallic materials inthe form of fine wire which is woven or twisted to provide an attachmentpossessing the heretofore described essential characteristics ofpliability and semi-rigidity for the purposes described.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: I

1. A steering wheel attachment of the class described comprising a handgrip adapted to be attached to a steering wheel in depending position, awheel connection means for operative attachment of said hand grip tosaid wheel and a pliable member operatively uniting said hand grip tosaid wheel connection means, said pliable member being sufiicientlyrigid to transmit positive operating movements to said wheel by leverageaction thereon of said hand grip.

2. A steering wheel attachment of the class described comprising a handgrip adapted to be attached to a steering wheel in depending position, awheel connection means yieldably mounted on said wheel and a pliablemember operatively uniting said hand grip to said wheel connectionmeans, said pliable member being sufiiciently rigid to transmit positiveoperating movements to said wheel by leverage action thereon ofsaid'hand grip.

3. A steering wheel attachment of the class described comprising a handgrip adapted to be attached to a steering wheel in depending position, awheel connection means yieldably mounted I on said wheel and movablethereon, and a pliable member operatively uniting said hand grip to saidwheel connection means, said pliable member being sufiiciently rigid totransmit positive operating movements to said wheel by leverage actionthereon of said hand grip.

4. A steering wheel attachment of the class described comprising a handgrip adapted to be attached to a steering wheel in depending position, awheel connection means mounted on said wheel and a member operativelyuniting said hand grip to said wheel connection means, said hand grip,wheel connection means and said uniting member being constructed of apliable composition material characterized by sufficient degree ofrigidity whereby said uniting member will transmit positive operatingmovements to said;

leverage action thereon of said hand scribed comprising a hand gripportion adapted v to be attached to a steering wheel and extendtherefrom, a wheel connection means for operative attachment of saidhand grip to said wheel and a pliable member operatively uniting saidhand grip to said wheel connection means, said pliable member beingsufiiciently rigid to transmit positive operating movements to saidwheel by leverage action thereon of said hand grip.

7. A steering wheel attachment of the class described comprising a handgrip adapted to be attached to a steering wheel, a wheel connectionmeans for operative attachment of said hand grip to said wheel and a no-meta1lic composition member operatively uniting said hand grip to saidwheel connection means, said member being sulficiently pliable to permitdeflection of said hand grip from its normal position with respect tothe wheel and sufficiently rigid to transmit positive operatingmovements to said wheel by leverage action thereon of said hand grip.

8. As a new article of manufacture, an auxiliary attachment for steeringwheels comprising an extension handle adapted to be adjustably mountedon a steering wheel, said handle being constructed of a pliablecomposition material which will permit deflection of the handle from itsnormal position with respect to the steering wheel but having suificientrigidity to transmit positive operating movements to said steering wheelby leverage action thereon of said handle.

ISAAC A. ANSON.

